


Special Edition!!

by markerlimes (sunmi)



Category: GOT7
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, M/M, Threesome - M/M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-18
Updated: 2014-03-18
Packaged: 2018-03-01 23:13:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2791220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunmi/pseuds/markerlimes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Superhero!AU- Junior Evil™ and Justice Boy™ make Youngjae's life miserable and exciting, but mostly miserable.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lemillion](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lemillion/gifts).



> originally posted on lj @ http://markerlimes.livejournal.com/1290.html

***************  
  
  
On paper, Youngjae’s job description is pretty plain.  
  
As a junior reporter at the JYP Daily news agency, his day to day duties involve fetching coffee, making copies and sometimes--when his boss is feeling generous- writing a column or two about Seoul’s latest masked vigilante activity.  
  
It most definitely does not involved being kidnapped out of his apartment at 5 ass o’clock in the morning, and then shuffled onto the cold steel of the Seoul metro tracks with his hands bound behind his back.  
  
His captor has the decency to untie Youngjae’s blindfold before leading him onto the tracks. It’s a nice gesture, but pretty pointless since Youngjae trips anyways. He lands face down onto the tracks, and tastes gravel between his lips.  
  
“Just sit tight cutie,” his captor says, voice sweet and placating. He gives Youngjae a pat on the head for good measure, before taking a step back to admire his work. In the dim light, Youngjae twists his neck around far enough to see a dark spandex suit and the very prominent emblazoned  **< JR EVIL>** on his back.  
  
“ _Junior Evil_?” Youngjae gasps out loud. It’s not as absurd as it sounds, especially when your life is on the tracks. Literally.  
  
The masked figure turns back half around, gifting Youngjae a view of his rather nice profile. Youngjae has seen him before on grainy news snippets and of course in the comic books, but never this close or in real life to be truthful.  
  
JR’s lips quirk up in a smile, all catty and content. “Yes?” he inquires pleasantly, like he’s making small talk. Maybe he is. The trains technically don’t even start running until 5:30AM.  
  
“Umm,” Youngjae gives his bonds a good, solid tug as he comes up with something to say, “did I do something wrong?” Maybe JR Evil is just here to teach Youngjae how to pay his bills on time.  
  
“Not particularly,” JR replies coyly. He takes a second to hop back down onto the tracks, crouching over Youngjae’s limp form. From the ground, Youngjae adjusts his head to relieve the strain on his neck, when JR clear his throat rather dramatically.  
  
“I just... didn’t particularly like the way you worded that article of yours last week,” JR admits, “I mean even considering your obvious bias for JB, you still could have been nicer. I mean, as much as I do--and I do a lot, couldn’t you have come up with something more colorful than “ _sinister, spandexed malefactor_ ”?  
  
Youngjae gawks, before spitting out, “You read that?  _You_  read the JYP Daily?”  
  
The look on JR’s face probably would have been incredulous if not for the mask blocking about 60% of it.  
  
“Of course,” he smirks, “what kind of uninformed citizen of Seoul would I be without it?” His voice is taunting, but it’s betrayed by the bemused smile on his lips. JR leans down now, cupping Youngjae’s chin in a gloved hand. He adjusts his wrist so that Youngjae’s face is angled towards the tunnels down the tracks.  
  
The terror in Youngjae’s face must be evident, because JR gives him a light chuckle before commenting, “don’t fret. It’s not all that bad.”  
  
Easy for him to say since he was the one who tied Youngjae down to the tracks in the first place.  
  
And for what?  
  
A few misconstrued lines on a column Youngjae is pretty sure no one even read. On a scale from one to happy hour at Sonic, this was so not worth it. For crying out loud, Youngjae’s job doesn’t even come with health benefits.  
  
“Oops,” JR says suddenly, stretching up like a cat, “would you look at the time.” Even behind the mask, Youngjae can tell that JR is positively amused.  
  
He gives Youngjae another pat on the head and mimes checking a watch on his wrist. “I’ve got an appointment in ten,” he announces as the rails begin to rattle threateningly, “but it’s been nice chatting with you. See you same time next week!”  
  
He hops back onto the edge of the platform, giving Youngjae a cheeky salute before diving into the shadows.  
  
Youngjae blinks, once, twice, and then remembers his current predicament.  
  
He starts wriggling furiously, but the wires wrapped around his wrists don’t even budge. As far as physics is concerned, Youngjae might as well be trying to unknot a solid brick. His fingers are nearly numb from the cold and out of the corner of his eye he sees bright lights emerging from the tunnel.  
  
The rails rattle violently as Youngjae twists his head up wildly, calling for help. Vaguely he wonders why Seoksu Station is so empty at this time and then wonders if that’ll be his last thought when a rush of wind lifts him clean off the tracks.  
  
The air rushes out of his lungs in a solid whoosh as Youngjae feels himself lifted vertically and then out of the train’s path in a split second. His head spins from the sudden vertigo, but before Youngjae can stumble onto the ground a pair of solid arms catch him.  
  
“Are you okay?” a deep voice asks and it takes Youngjae a second to register that Justice Boy--  
  
Oh god.  
  
 _Justice Boy_  is here.  _The_  Justice Boy with his arms wrapped around Youngjae, sparkling even brighter than his 2D portrayal on the latest comic book cover Youngjae had just bought yesterday.  
  
“Umm, yes,” Youngjae replies utterly dazed, “hi.”  
  
“Hi to you too,” Justice Boy says with a quick nod and  _wow_ , his teeth are even whiter in person than they are on the billboards, advertising the newest brand of toothpaste. Youngjae probably says something to that effect or maybe it’s clearly spelled out on his face, because Justice Boy gives him another disarming smile that sends Youngjae’s heart fluttering.  
  
He curls in towards Justice Boy, partly because it’s still cold-- and without the danger breathing down his neck, the temperature has actually plummeted down into negative numbers--but mostly because JB kind of still has his arms wrapped around Youngjae, holding him tightly to his chest.  
  
Youngjae lets out a relieved breath and curls his head in closer to JB. He settles his head down and waits for his breaths to even out. His heartbeat isn’t anywhere close to normal BPM though.  
  
JB smells nice too. Fresh mint and citrus lime, the scent of the new mouthwash he was endorsing this week. Youngjae still can’t believe this is happening.  
  
All around them, cameras begin to go off as the newly arrived bystanders cheer for Seoul’s Justice Boy on saving yet another day.  
  
All in all, this is one of Youngjae’s more memorable mornings.  
  
  
***************  
  
  
It goes without saying that Youngjae is late for work.  
  
Which is all good and fine, because in the brief hour or so he spent kidnapped and then subsequently rescued, Youngjae is now somewhat of a folk legend at the office.  
  
“You’re alive!” is the first thing Kunpimook says to him when he enters the office, followed by, “you lucky bastard tell me what happened. Please please please!”  
  
Yugyeom, their other intern, is much more tactful--handing Youngjae a cup of coffee before greeting him with wide excited eyes. “Hyung I’m glad you’re okay,” he exclaims before lowering his voice to a curious whisper. “So umm, what was Justice Boy like?”  
  
“Tell me about JR Evil first,” Kunpimook butts in aggressively. “Tell me everything!”  
  
“Hey both of you,” Jackson shouts and  _jesus_ , Youngjae forgets how loud he is sometimes, “stop harassing him. I need details for the editorial.”  
  
“But,” Kunpimook protests wildly, “he met both JR and JB this morning. This is kind of a big deal.” To which Yugyeom nods vigorously in support. Youngjae takes the brief distraction as a means to escape to his desk. He’s missed a deadline this morning and regardless of kidnappings, it would be his head on the chopping block if it isn’t submitted soon.  
  
He clears his desk, searching for the copy when he bumps into someone. Youngjae turns around to find Mark, their freelance photographer, behind him.  
  
“Interesting morning hmm?” Mark teases softly and Youngjae jumps, startled. Mark has a habit of doing this, the whole creeping up behind you followed by a calm greeting thing, but knowing this doesn’t make Youngjae any more used to it.  
  
Mark gives him an expectant look and Youngjae feels positively awkward, but he’s saved for the second time this morning by Jackson of all people who bursts into the room dramatically.  
  
“I’m gonna borrow him if you don’t mind babe,” he directs to Mark before turning on Youngjae full force. “Come on,” Jackson urges, dragging him out by the arm, “you’ve got to tell me something. I want details.”  
  
Jackson Wang is only two years older than Youngjae and somehow already the head of the tabloid section at the JYP Daily. It fits him though, Youngjae thinks wryly as he fails to shake Jackson off of him, heading into the copy room.  
  
“So, what were you wearing this morning,” Jackson begins, his interrogation game-face completely on. He reminds Youngjae of a bloodhound with the way his eyes track Youngjae’s every move. Youngjae tries to ignore him, unsuccessfully trying to boot up the ancient copier instead.  
  
The copy machine starts beeping pathetically as Youngjae avoids Jackson’s expectant look the best he can. He takes a swig of his coffee.  
  
It’s going to be a long day.  
  
“Umm, I was in my pajamas cause it happened so early you know, but I had a coat on. He was nice enough at least to let me get a coat,” he starts, before snapping, “can’t you do this later hyung? I already missed a deadline this morning. Besides, I don’t even remember that much.”  
  
Jackson backs off for about half a second as Youngjae slams a hand down on the uncompliant machine.  
  
“You liar. What did he smell like?” Jackson shoots at him suddenly and Youngjae spits out his coffee, choking.  
  
“AHA!” Jackson yells triumphantly, fist up in the air, “lemme grab my notepad first. You’re gonna tell me everything.”  
  
  
***************  
  
  
 _“On a cold morning in Seoul, I found myself in imminent danger--”_  
  
Youngjae jots the line down before taking a sip of his now cold coffee.  
  
It’s a start if nothing else.  
  
It’s hardly satisfactory though. For starters, the word “imminent” doesn’t really fit and Youngjae is beginning to see why JR Evil was ragging on him for his poor word choices--although that still didn’t justify him throwing Youngjae out on the tracks to die.  
  
He sets the coffee down to type some more.  
  
 _“The long time nemesis of Seoul’s heroic Justice Boy, Junior Evil appeared to me today. He cunningly tricked me into letting him in my residence and then proceeded to take me hostage…”_  
  
Okay, a more truthful depiction of what went down would be: Youngjae waking up to the sound of the doorbell at 5AM and sleepily padding his way to the door before getting knocked out, tied up, unceremoniously dragged and then finally transported to Seoksu Station.  
  
What Youngjae had written down sounded a lot more consensual and a whole lot less pathetic on his part...not that JR Evil hadn’t made the whole situation pretty pathetic for Youngjae in the first place.  
  
Speaking of JR Evil, he would end up reading this, wouldn’t he?  
  
Youngjae grimaces. The last thing he wanted to happen was to have JR throw him out of a window for distortion of the truth and unethical journalism.  
  
He swallows nervously, clearing the word document to start over.  
  
  
***************  
  
  
About half a week later, Youngjae gets thrown out of a window anyways.  
  
JR reassures him that it has nothing to do with his writing this time, which --he notes in the midst of carrying Youngjae away from JB in an elaborate game of cat and mouse--has improved immensely since the last time they met.  
  
“Your depictions of me were much more accurate too,” JR pants breathlessly as Youngjae struggles fiercely in his grasp. Youngjae isn’t sure why he does it, since JR’s super human strength is the only thing keeping him from plummeting 70 stories or so to the concrete below.  
  
“I’m glad you think so,” Youngjae stammers, trying not to look down at the drop below, “ now umm, please don’t kill me.” He grits his teeth as JR lets out a laugh.  
  
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” he teases as the wind begins to pick up. Youngjae sways in his grasp, legs wobbling like jelly, but JR pulls him close, hand firm on his shoulder.  
  
“By the way,” he says conversationally into Youngjae’s ear as Justice Boy closes in on them both, “I think you’re way too cute to kill.”  
  
The last Youngjae sees of JR is his kittenish smile, the edges of his eye mask flapping up in the wind and his hair whipping up like a dark halo around him as he pushes Youngjae out the broken window down 70 stories.  
  
  
***************  
  
  
If Youngjae hadn’t pissed himself on the way down, he’s pretty sure the sight of a furious JB would have made him leak all over Seoul’s streets regardless.  
  
JB’s grip is firm on his waist as he slows them down enough to land gracefully on the pavement below. Youngjae flat out collapses onto the pavement, voice hoarse from screaming on the way down. The wind in his lungs doesn’t feel right and just a moment ago he had been so sure he’d be nothing but another layer of pavement.  
  
He looks up at JB in gratitude and almost immediately regrets doing so.  
  
“Junior!” Justice Boy practically roars into the sky and Youngjae briefly ponders if ‘sonic screaming’ is a new superpower JB has unlocked recently. Youngjae quivers from the sound and he must look pretty pathetic because JB stops immediately.  
  
He’s at Youngjae’s side in an instant, hand rubbing soothing strokes down his back. Cradling Youngjae’s head in his arms, JB talks him through his panic-- murmuring nonsensical things to distract him. By the time Youngjae can breathe properly again, he’s sure he’s never wanted to kiss someone so much in his life.  
  
JB’s lips are a nice shape-- not as kissable as Mark’s are (as Jackson likes to gloat every other day),-- but they’re wonderfully pink and so, so close. Youngjae leans forward, closing his eyes. It’s either bad timing or he does it too slowly, because JB misinterprets his motion as leaning over to hurl.  
  
“Be careful there tiger,” he says, voice full of concern, and Youngjae’s face burns up in embarrassment. At this rate, he might as well have splattered himself all over the Seoul pavement in more ways than one.  
  
“I umm,” Youngjae starts, fighting the burning shame on his cheeks, “thank you for saving my life. Again.”  
  
“Yeah, no problem,” JB replies like Youngjae just thanked him for lending him his textbook or something, “it’s been a crazy week, huh.”  
  
Youngjae nods, unsure of how to answer him when JB’s head whips up, eyes pinpointing something beyond the horizon--too far for Youngjae to see. “Junior,” he growls.  
  
“Sorry Youngjae,” he says voice regretful, “I have some business to take care of. Can you get home? Or would you like me to take you there first?”  
  
“No thank you,” he says, stretching out his legs. Youngjae has had enough airtime today to last him a lifetime. “I’ll be fine. Thank you.”  
  
JB gives him a straight salute before speeding off in hot pursuit of JR Evil.  
  
Youngjae watches him turn into a speck on the horizon before picking himself off the pavement. It isn’t even dinner time yet and somehow Youngjae would like nothing more than to just curl up and sleep for a decade. He straightens up, making sure each of his limbs function properly before heading home.  
  
On the way back, Youngjae is trying so hard to fight down the giddy glee that Justice Boy just offered to walk him home, that he completely misses the fact that JB somehow knew his name.  
  
  
***************  
  
  
The week after that is an armed bank robbery in which JR Evil shows up for no other reason than to drag Youngjae into the fray and subsequently leave him there to be found by JB. By then, Youngjae is sure he’ll be deaf by the end of the week. Between the ruckus raised by the group of clown-masked robbers and the gunfire, Youngjae is sure that  _very good_  is something his hearing will never be again.  
  
The bank goes up in flames by the time the robbers are done, but thanks to JB’s almost too perfect timing, Youngjae makes it out alive. His clothes are slightly singed and he’s pretty sure he can’t hear anything after the bomb blast, but the way JB holds him tightly through the rubble and the ensuing fire makes him almost think the ordeal was almost worth it.  
  
“I think I love you,” Youngjae says at some point even though he can’t hear himself and he burrows his face in JB’s shoulder before he gets to see his reaction. The smoke in the air is enough to make him half-delirious and Youngjae hopes JB will understand at least that much.  
  
To be honest, Youngjae is more afraid of getting rejected than he was of getting blown up moments ago. But insanity triumphs reason for a day and when Youngjae feels JB’s grip around his waist tighten, he can’t stop the smile that spreads across his face as his knees finally buckle out of relief.  
  
  
***************  
  
  
The rest of the month goes without a hitch. Youngjae even gets promoted at work which bumps him up to two published articles a month instead of one. Kunpimook flat out calls it favoritism and Youngjae can’t defend himself against it with a super hero and his arch nemesis constantly flitting in and out of his life.  
  
As soon as April rolls around, Youngjae starts double checking every street corner and every nook and cranny of his apartment before entering. His paranoia is short-lived however when Junior Evil shows up lounging on his couch in the morning when Youngjae is getting dressed for work.  
  
“What the actual hell,” he shouts as JR drags him half-naked and frantic back out to the same skyscraper from before.  
  
“Again?” Youngjae nearly screams.  
  
JR smirks. “Why not?” he laughs, pulling Youngjae towards the open window, “I’m a sucker for the classics.” He dangles Youngjae over the edge like fresh bait ready to be thrown off into the sea.  
  
“I hate you,” Youngjae grumbles before JR pecks him on the cheek and lets him tumble another 70 stories.  
  
  
***************  
  
  
“I’m definitely flying you back home this time,” JB promises as soon as Youngjae has caught his breath on the street below. He cut it pretty close this time, leaving only maybe 10 stories between Youngjae and certain death before catching him.  
  
“I really don’t want to fly,” Youngjae wheezes out. He shoots JB a hopeful look and pleads, “Can we please just walk?”  
  
JB gives him a bright smile that sends Youngjae’s legs back into useless jelly-mode and offers a hand to Youngjae. JB’s palm is warm and his grip is strong as he pulls Youngjae up to stand.  
  
“Sure, but let’s grab some coffee on the way,” JB suggests like it’s every day that he saunters into a Starbucks in his spandex suit to order a Macchiato. Youngjae just nods dumbly.  
  
There’s really not much else he can do at this point.  
  
  
***************  
  
  
They end up walking through a drive-thru, which is somehow even funnier because the voice taking orders treats them normally while all the other cars in the vicinity immediately park and start pulling out cameras to catch Justice Boyin action.  
  
“Are you sure this is okay?” Youngjae asks again, shyly. He flinches slightly as a flash goes off in his face. They’re walking through a drive-thru in broad daylight; there’s nothing about this that screams undercover or discreet.  
  
“You just got dropped out of a skyscraper for the second time in two months. I think this is perfectly fine in perspective,” JB replies with a casual wave to a group of fangirls off to the side; Youngjae is sure he sees one of them faint into another’s arms.  
  
He opens his mouth to argue, but only manages to sneeze as JB walks straight up to the window and begins rattling off an order. He has a surprisingly complicated coffee order. Up against Youngjae’s plain vanilla latte, it almost feels like some sort of social commentary on their relationship.  
  
“Umm,” Youngjae interrupts, “can I get tea instead?” JB raises an eyebrow that makes it above his eye mask but changes the order anyways.  
  
“I did kind of figure you as a tea kind of guy,” JB comments, but Youngjae interrupts him with a loud sneeze.  
  
“I think I might be coming down sick,” he admits, “I don’t think a normal human body is made for so much wear and tear in such a short time.”  
  
“Or maybe you’re just allergic to excitement,” JB teases and Youngjae swats at him half-playfully before sneezing again. The look on JB’s face changes to one of concern.  
  
Their orders come and JB pays with cash, much to Youngjae’s disappointment. Given the day’s events, he almost half-expected JB to pull out a flashy credit card with the name JUSTICE BOY emblazoned upon it. Either way, it makes JB as much of a stranger as ever--nameless still. Even in his daze, Youngjae figures that the whole secret identity thing would prevent JB from ever telling him anyways.  
  
Youngjae’s tea turns out to be two-thirds boiled water coupled with an ineffective tea bag, but he drinks it anyways--thankful to have something soothe his throat. JB’s extravagant mocha comes out a little later and they make small talk by the curb to burn time.  
  
JB is almost painfully normal. Or maybe, Youngjae thinks, JB tones down his superhero-charismawhen he’s around him. He smiles at Youngjae’s outdated jokes and his even more stale puns. When Youngjae tells him about JR abducting him the first time, and JB snorts unattractively and chokes halfway on his over-sweetened drink.  
  
It takes Youngjae surprise. Maybe it’s because of the mask, but Youngjae sometimes forgets that JB is sort of human. He’s also not as much of a model citizen as he’s marketed as either.  
  
“Does anyone pay their bills on time?” he asks casually when he’s done laughing over Youngjae’s retelling of his first kidnapping—to which Youngjae can’t help himself from blurting out, “Wait, you pay bills?”  
  
“And taxes,” JB nods sadly. It’s surreal.  
  
Youngjae finds that he doesn't really mind.  
  
By the time the sun sets, Youngjae has the line of JB’s throat, his voice, his laughter, and his blinding smile ingrained in his mind, but when he returns home and tries to fall asleep, it’s JR’s wicked smile, his slender fingers, and his soft lips against Youngjae’s cheek that keep him tossing and turning.  
  
  
***************  
  
  
“Look at you,” Jackson says brightly the next morning, slapping down the morning paper on the desk with a flourish, “you’re a bonafide Mary Jane now.”  
  
“Ughh,” Youngjae groans from his desk, but a part of him can’t help but sneak a peek at the headlines. Low and behold, there’s Youngjae with Justice Boy’s arms wrapped around him securely mid-flight. The text below is what catches his attention though. He clears his aching throat:  
  
 _“In place of numerous petty crimes committed last week, the public’s eye has now been drawn to a series of bizarre and entertaining kidnappings committed by the ever enviable Junior Evil.”_  
  
Youngjae sets the paper down with a confused look, but Jackson urges him to continue.  
  
 _“As of last month, this is the 4th hostage situation in a row where the victim has found himself helpless at the mercy of Junior Evil, but later rescued by Seoul’s ever favored Justice Boy. As a result of these coincidental kidnappings, the subject in question’s net worth has gone up an estimated 60 million won…”_  
  
“Holy shit,” Youngjae hisses and glances back to the paper and skims quickly to the bottom.  
  
 _“Unfortunately due to privacy reasons, JYP Daily is unable to disclose the hostage’s identity, but we wish him the best of luck through these intriguing series of events.”_  
  
Youngjae stops for real this time. “That’s kind of messed up,” he mutters still very much bewildered, “Why would my net worth go up if my life is constantly in danger?”  
  
“Dude,” Jackson comments, swirling his coffee with an amused smile, “do you know many girls would  _kill_  to be you?”  
  
“And guys,” Youngjae interjects defensively.  
  
“And guys,” Jackson amends with a smirk, “but really do you know what kind of hot property you are with Junior Evil and Justice Boy having a turf war over your ass?”  
  
His face lights aflame. “Please don’t phrase it like that,” Youngjae stammers. Jackson’s shit-eating grin only gets larger.  
  
Youngjae’s head is reeling from information overload, but there’s something nagging the back of his brain. “Wait,” he pauses, massaging his temples, “who even wrote this?”  
  
The look on Jackson’s face is as confused as his own as he flips to section B to the end of the article where the italicized name is located. His fingers trace down onto the page.  
  
“Park Jinyoung,” Jackson reads out loud, a bemused smile on his face. “Look at you, even our CEO is in on this juicy scoop now.”  
  
Youngjae is too flabbergasted to even reply.  
  
  
***************  
  
  
Two mornings later, his doorbell rings at 6AM and Youngjae rolls over miserably in his covers.  
  
“No,” he mumbles, “not today.” The doorbell rings again.  
  
“Do you hear me, JR?” he whines through a thoroughly clogged nose. He sounds positively awful.  
  
Another ring. “I said not today!” he moans weakly.  
  
Now there’s knocking at the door and Youngjae buries himself under his comforter. He’s not in the mood for a casual kidnapping as Kunpimook has termed his ‘ _incidents_ ’ recently. The fact that he’s not even in the mood to see JB’s shining face save him from danger speaks volumes about how he feels.  
  
The knocking ceases after another solid 10 minutes and Youngjae lets out a sickly sigh. Maybe evil does have its limits after all. Youngjae rolls back over and manages to slip back into feverish sleep.  
  
In his dream, JR is floating along with the wind.  
  
In his hand are a dozen or so balloons that lift him clear above the clouds. He hands Youngjae a single red balloon and together they float up into the stratosphere, close enough to graze the stars. The wind up high is rough and JR reaches an arm out for Youngjae who takes it-- only to realize that his own balloon is gone and that both he and JR are flying securely in JB’s arms.  
  
  
***************  
  
  
It’s five in the afternoon when Youngjae finally manages to crawl out of bed. He ambles out of his room to check the door, and finds a cold cup of tea waiting for him.  
  
  
***************


	2. more news at 11

 

 

Despite the broad appeal of Justice Boy, it doesn’t go unnoticed to Youngjae that Junior Evil has a strangely dedicated cult following of his own.  
  
After a moment of consideration, Youngjae supposes it isn’t too strange. He can easily picture JR with his perfected anti-hero smile and wayward charisma being the fan favorite of the average angsty teen-- not that Youngjae is an angsty teen himself, he’s long past those days.  
  
The internet is swarming with information on the two and Youngjae delves into anything he can find. He learns their birthdays, their blood types, and a bunch of other useless information that Youngjae files away in his mind anyways.  
  
He scrolls past fanboards full of love declarations and a dozen more filled with fanwars between the two which he exits out of quickly. Youngjae sees them fight enough in real life to satisfy any sort of gleefully antagonistic feelings he would otherwise harbor as an avid JB supporter.  
  
For clarification, Youngjae has been on Team Justice Boy since the beginning.  
  
He’s collected every edition of the Amazing Chronicles of Justice Boy since they debuted 3 years ago, but lately it’s been JR’s scenes that he flips back and forth to reread. He’s on his bed one day, lying on his stomach with the latest chapter of ACJB and before he can even help himself, Youngjae finds his eyes glued to the panel where JR makes yet another tricky escape out the rooftop--thinking that the illustrations didn’t do JR’s real face justice. Sure Youngjae has only seen half of JR’s face, but even then the lines and shading can’t capture the mischievous quirk of his mouth nor the peculiar way that JR pouted.  
  
Maybe this is what Stockholm syndrome feels like. Youngjae has never been one to self-diagnose, but there’s a strange, twisted thrill to the danger that JR brings into his life. It’s ridiculous to say that Youngjae is beginning to look forward to his biweekly kidnappings, but yeah, he  _sort of_  is.  
  
There’s no way that Youngjae has jumped ship over to Team JR Evil, but it’s more than fair to say that he’s more Team Middle Ground than he’s ever been before.  
  
It’s different now, looking up information about the comic book heroes he once knew so well, but actually knew nothing about. There’s no special edition of the Amazing Chronicles of Justice Boy that detailed the specifics of JB’s preferred coffee or the strange habit JR had of patting people on the head.  
  
Youngjae knows about them from experience, and the only real way for him to learn more about JB and JR is to suffer through more kidnappings.  
  
Unsatisfied and restless, Youngjae rolls over into his covers and dreams of skies.  
  
  
***************  
  
  
Around the middle of May, Youngjae gets off work early and before he even gets a chance to stop by the local coffee shop, he’s confronted by a shady looking black car that pulls up beside him.  
  
It shouldn’t surprise him to see JR’s masked face in the driver seat, but the flowers definitely do.  
  
“You shouldn’t have,” Youngjae comments dryly as JR waves a hand inward.  
  
“Just get in the car,” he commands like he’s in a hurry. Youngjae hesitates and JR threatens to unbuckle his seat belt. “Are you waiting for me to open the door for you, princess?” JR asks after another beat and Youngjae resigns himself to his fate.  
  
“So, flowers?” he asks as they’re speeding down the freeway, and JR shrugs in reply, “They’re for my mom.”  
  
“Oh,” Youngjae says, a little disappointed. That makes sense.  
  
He realizes why a second later.  
  
“Aww crap,” he gasps, “it’s Mother’s Day! I completely forgot.”  
  
“You still have time to get your mom something,” JR muses, flipping the radio station on. He strums his fingers along to the beat as Youngjae fiddles with his seatbelt nervously.  
  
“You mean,” Youngjae suggests hopefully, “you’re gonna let me out early?”  
  
“Maybe,” JR says. He’s surprisingly noncommittal today.  
  
Youngjae is all about pushing his luck these days. “Could you let me out by 8PM-ish? I’d like to swing by home to have dinner with her at least,” he voices over the sound of Girls’ Day.  
  
JR peers at him through the rear view mirror, amused.  
  
“Well, that’s not really up to me, now is it?”  
  
  
***************  
  
  
Just this once, Youngjae lets JB fly him home to his mother’s place in order to make it to supper in time. The night view of Seoul is stunning from above and Youngjae wishes he could appreciate it more, but it’s a short flight--10 minutes tops from the abandoned warehouse JR stashed him in to his mother’s apartment complex.  
  
JB sets him down on the rooftop and Youngjae intuitively starts stretching out his limbs, reestablishing blood flow to his vital points.  
  
The flowers he brought are a little windblown, but still in okay shape. Smiling brightly, Youngjae looks to the side and starts working on tidying up his hair.  
  
“Have a nice night,” JB calls and suddenly he’s right above Youngjae pressing a soft kiss to his forehead. Something in Youngjae’s chest swells and part of him thinks that this is what living out a fairy tale must be like. JB is a fantasy, an unreachable superhero that Youngjae can’t have otherwise, but he’s here right now. In the flesh and so close that Youngjae could reach up and pull off his mask if he wanted to.  
  
But he won’t.  
  
Instead, he locks his arms around JB, hugging him tightly, hoping to convey his gratitude through physical contact. For a second, JB goes slack in his arms, before returning the hug with double the force. JB is a great hugger and it’s incredibly romantic for all of half a second, until Youngjae feels something in his back pop.  
  
“Hyung,” he mumbles unintelligibly against JB’s chest--his sides straining under the pressure, “you’re holding me kind of tight.”  
  
“Oh,” JB says, pulling back to straighten Youngjae’s collar. Youngjae is sure his face is akin to a tomato. “Sorry,” JB says and it takes Youngjae a second to realize that Justice Boy is blushing.  
  
It’s faint in the dim light, but it’s definitely there.  
  
“Thank you,” he blurts out finally, “for everything.” Beneath the stars, JB glows--his silver hair unearthly beautiful. A part of Youngjae realizes that no matter how close he gets to JB, Youngjae will always be more than a little mesmerized by his presence.  
  
“Stay safe,” JB grins and Youngjae thinks he knows why Justice Boy is Seoul’s chosen protector. JB had a smile that made you  _want_  to know him. It was beyond disarming and his dark mask by contrast only made it that much brighter.  
  
“I would!” Youngjae calls after him, “but that’s not really up to me, now is it?”  
  
JB’s laughter rings through the darkness and Youngjae stays on the rooftop long enough to watch him fly away, like a liberated balloon floating higher and higher until it merges with the stars.  
  
  
***************  
  
  
By June, Youngjae learns that there’s a betting pool at work as to which of the two masked entities will end up winning the “ _Youngjae turf war_ ” (as coined by Jackson months ago).  
  
“It’s not even like that,” Youngjae sighs after trying to explain himself for the umpteenth time. Four pairs of skeptical eyes meet his. It’s useless.  
  
“Of course it’s like that,” Kunpimook says matter of factly, “it’s like every Korean drama I’ve ever seen. Only with more spandex and a lot less cancer.”  
  
“This isn’t even remotely like a drama,” Youngjae groans. “Only because you’d make a shit heroine,” Jackson adds in snidely before sliding a couple of bills onto the table.  
  
“Wait. Is this for JB or JR?” Yugyeom asks idly, flipping the bills in his hand. Youngjae can see a tidy little stack at the center and bites his tongue to stop himself from asking what the odds are.  
  
“JR,” Jackson says confidently, peering at Youngjae closely. “Everyone likes ‘em wild and sexy.”  
  
“Your loss hyung,” Kunpimook smirks, “Youngjae here has had a huge mancrush on good ol’ Justice Boy since the beginning of time.”  
  
“Oh really?” Mark inquires, fishing out his own wallet now. Youngjae can’t believe this.  
  
“Here’s 8000 won on JB,” he says and Yugyeom reaches a hand out to receive the money when Youngjae slaps it back down.  
  
“There’s no point,” he stresses. “This whole betting pool is ridiculous and a waste of time, because there won’t be a winner.” He pauses to take a breath,- “Because I’m a strong independent-”  
  
“You’d make a shit heroine. Face the facts,” Jackson interrupts, pulling out more bills from his pocket. “6000 more in the JR pool please.” He stares challengingly at Mark, like he’s just upped the ante at a Poker table. Mark, fortunately, doesn’t take the bait.  
  
“It’s okay hyung,” Yugyeom says comfortingly, all the while still accepting the money from Jackson, “at least some good has come out of it. I mean, your net worth has gone up and they’re going to make a drama out of it and everything.”  
  
“What,” Youngjae deadpans and then repeats for good measure, “WHAT?!”  
  
“About that…” Mark muses. “There’s talk about making a preliminary screenplay for a series about your kidnappings. You might even get a cut depending how JYP negotiates it.”  
  
“More importantly,” Kunpimook crows excitedly in the face of Youngjae’s shock, “you might even get a say in who gets casted to play you.”  
  
Youngjae simply puts his head down on the table and keeps it there.  
  
  
***************  
  
  
The betting pool dries up by the time July rolls around despite Jackson’s incessant grumbling about killjoys and bad odds.  
  
Speaking of bad odds, Youngjae wakes up one warm morning to find himself out on the tracks again.  
  
It’s complete deja vu from their first encounter and it’s become quite obvious to Youngjae that JR Evil’s plans are getting a bit stale.  
  
“Why are we even still doing this?” Youngjae complains aloud when the train tracks start rattling.  
  
“ _We_?” JR smirks, but this time he stays with Youngjae on the tracks. “Don’t include yourself like you get a say in all of this. You’re still here at my mercy.”  
  
“How comforting,” Youngjae moans, face down on the gravel. He strains his neck to get a glimpse of the tunnel as the tracks continue to rattle. It turns out to be a false alarm though, since no lights appear on the tracks after a tense 30 seconds.  
  
“Hey, Junior?” Youngjae asks as the masked villain turns to leave. “Just a question...but if JB didn’t show up, would you actually leave me here?”  
  
JR seems surprised at the question and turns back fully so that Youngjae can see the knit in his brows as he answers, “It’s a good thing for you we don’t have to find out.” He opens his mouth as if he’s going to add something.  
  
The rush of wind on the platform signals JB’s arrival and when Youngjae turns back to look again, JR is gone.  
  
  
***************  
  
  
There are no “ _incidents_ ” in July.  
  
Or August for that matter of fact.  
  
By the time August is on its last legs, Youngjae takes two days off on vacation to sit around train stations.  
  
There’s nothing. No JR manhandling him onto the tracks and no JB rushing in with impeccable timing to save him from near death. It’s almost a relief, except it’s not.  
  
All around him there are billboards with Justice Boy’s latest ads playing; his masked face around every street corner, Youngjae walks past. JR is harder to find information about, but Youngjae knows he’s out there somewhere. Every now and then, there’s a news report about the two of them fighting each other across Seoul. Only now Youngjae hears about it through a screen, a radio, just like everyone else.  
  
The latest edition of their comic comes out and Youngjae leafs through it half-heartedly. He shouldn’t be treating this like a break-up. Yet, here he is.  
  
At the end of the week Youngjae goes back to JYP Daily and starts a column about microwave dinners.  
  
He’s that bored.  
  
On one occasion, he walks home extra late and wonders if everything was just a dream.  
  
  
***************  
  
  
“You  _never_  share,” JR pouts, lips wet on the side of Youngjae’s neck. His teeth are sharp, nibbling coyly as Youngjae shivers from the sensation.  
  
JB doesn’t move.  
  
He just stands there, mouth slightly ajar; his fists clenched tightly to his side. Youngjae sneaks a quick glance back at him, twisting his head against JR’s grasp.  
  
“Shouldn’t I be the one saying that,” JB retorts, but the tremor in his voice betrays him.  
  
Youngjae likes to think that he’s simply calculating the safest way to rescue Youngjae from imminent danger like usual, but the way JB gasps when JR bites down on Youngjae’s neck makes Youngjae think that this is something different all together.  
  
JR’s hands sliding up his thighs to grip his waist teasingly. “You’ve got to admit now,” JR teases lightly, tickling Youngjae’s navel with slender fingers. “I’ve got pretty good taste.”  
  
“Put him down,” JB growls and suddenly JR’s lips are on his. The edges of his mask press against Youngjae’s cheeks. The back of his neck is pinned by JR’s hand in his hair as yanks Youngjae’s head back.  
  
It’s not like Youngjae has never been kissed before, but it's never been anything like this. Never on the edge of a skyscraper with the wind whipping a mile a minute—where everything is laced with adrenaline and fear.  
  
Despite the circumstances, it’s a pretty hot kiss. JB seems to agree, with the way his mouth has dropped open, panting slightly. JR is clearly an experienced kisser with the way he tilts Youngjae’s head back with ease, licking him open and pliant.  
  
JR is deceptively thin, wiry and lean. Against JB, it almost made no sense how he could pin him down little to no effortlessly, but Youngjae understands now, trapped in his iron grip with nowhere to run.  
  
He pushes against JR’s chest helplessly, trying to catch his breath. Finally, JR lets up and Youngjae jerks his head to the side gasping. Out of the corner of his eye he sees JB move forward and for a second Youngjae feels a flicker of hope.  
  
JB does the exact opposite though, leaning in and meeting JR’s lips with a harsh kiss.  
  
Youngjae lets out a low whine.  
  
“Are you happy now?” JB taunts and Youngjae has never heard his voice so low, so dangerous.  
  
“I’m never happy,” JR huffs and he pushes JB off of him with a flick of his wrist. The smirk on his face is dangerous. He tugs on Youngjae’s arm, pulling them both away from JB who makes no attempt to follow them.  
  
“Don’t you forget,” JR calls, as he drags Youngjae with him to the edge of the rail. “I’m still the one running the show here.”  
  
The wind rushes up to meet him and Youngjae falls.  
  
Youngjae wakes up painfully turned on and feeling more lost than ever.  
  
  
***************  
  
  
It’s barely the beginning of September when Youngjae accidentally runs into the two of them in the coffee shop he frequents next to JYP’s HQ.  
  
Well, to be exact, Youngjae walks into the coffee shop and sees a dark-haired boy chatting animatedly to a silver-haired boy sitting across from him and promptly flees.  
  
He ducks behind the entrance, heart pounding, and wonders if he’s finally gone crazy.  
  
For starters, he can’t be sure that it’s them. There can’t be that many boys in Seoul with silver hair to begin with, but the odds are so horribly slim that Youngjae feels confident that he’s mistaken.  
  
He takes in a deep breath and walks back in.  
  
Youngjae pauses in front of the counter, pretending to look at the board above and sneaks another glance at the duo by the back table.  
  
 _Theoretically_  speaking, it could be them. They look about the same height, although it’s hard to tell from their sitting postures. Youngjae’s eyes scour over them, looking for signs, something...anything to prove to him that he’s being plain delusional-- when his eyes land on the drink in front of the silver-haired boy.  
  
“Ah,” he hears JR vocalize as Youngjae bolts out of the coffee shop without ordering. He’s not sure why he thought he could outrun two trained superhumans, but Youngjae gives it his best shot.  
  
He makes it about three blocks, panting and wheezing when a familiar black car pulls up beside him.  
  
“You know the drill,” JR says from the driver’s seat, only this time he’s maskless and Justice Boy is riding shotgun with him. It’s a strange sight to behold, let alone process.  
  
“Just get in the car, please?” JB says, “we need to talk.” His voice is soft, unsure almost, and Youngjae doesn’t think he’s ever heard JB sound quite like that.  
  
“We?” Youngjae echoes incredulously, “as in me, you, and your arch nemesis?”  
  
“Just get in the car Youngjae,” JB urges. “This is important. You’re in danger, come with us please.”  
  
“Danger?” Youngjae laughs. This is actually absurd. “Sorry if I don’t follow, but the only danger I’ve encountered in the past year has come from the guy half a foot away from you. I’m not getting in the car.”  
  
He looks at JR indignantly, feeling strangely satisfied when the super villain can’t meet his eyes.  
  
“Youngjae,” JB hisses. “We lied to you okay. We’re sorry. Just get in the car and we’ll explain everything.”  
  
This is new.  
  
He freezes, caught between JB’s request and JR’s expectant gaze-- and that’s when another pair of arms snatches him from behind. A piece of ragged cloth is pressed over his mouth, and then he’s out.  
  
  
***************  
  
  
Youngjae wakes up, freezing.  
  
For a brief moment he can’t feel his limbs and when he actually tries moving them, nothing reacts. His mind feels slow, like each individual word is dragged down with the weight of a steel net as they try to form thoughts.  
  
It’s confusing.  
  
Most of all, it should be  _terrifying_ , but Youngjae can’t even bring himself to feel that.  
  
He can’t see anything. The area is dark, stretching out endlessly in front of him. He can’t hear either, frozen in a world no longer governed by second or minutes but by Youngjae’s own shallow breaths. In and out, in and out.  
  
Youngjae could be everywhere and anywhere, it doesn’t matter to him. The thought swirls around his mind at the speed of molasses. He should be scared.  
  
Suddenly, the cold vanishes. Everything is hot. There’s yelling and explosions, but the world is still dark.  
  
Something ( _a hand?_  he thinks sluggishly) grips his face and yanks off a blindfold Youngjae didn’t even know was there, exposing his true surroundings.  
  
The world is on fire. There are lights from the ceiling burning into his eyes and even more light from a fire raging around them. It makes Youngjae’s head hurt. The figure who undid Youngjae’s blindfold cups his chin gingerly and Youngjae squints.  
  
It’s JB, maskless and roughed up with a bleeding lip and a large scrape on his cheek. He shakes Youngjae, whose head rolls uselessly from one shoulder to the other in a lazy arc. Distantly, Youngjae registers someone yelling, but it sounds so distorted it might as well be coming from another room.  
  
At some point, JB says something, but Youngjae can’t tell what. He only hears screaming and booming sounds--the crash of debris around them. JB picks him up carefully, supporting all of Youngjae’s limp weight and begins to move.  
  
He tries to tell JB that it’s hot, but nothing comes out of his lips. The fog in his head coupled with the growing smoke outside is too thick.  
  
Another figure appears by JB’s side stealthily and even in his drugged up state, Youngjae knows it’s not JR Evil. He opens his mouth to warn JB, but before he can, the figure smashes JB upside the head, sending them both downward.  
  
Vaguely, Youngjae recalls falling with JB several times before. Only it was never this hot and they most definitely never reached the pavement below.  
  
Youngjae hits the ground hard, limbs unwilling to budge and still uncoordinated. JB rolls around faster than Youngjae’s eyes can follow and snaps to his feet ready to fight. He lunges at the threat, bringing his target down as Youngjae watches pensively from the side.  
  
Out of the corner of his eye he sees another group of three men fighting a much smaller, slender figure. Youngjae blinks and suddenly they’re gone--obscured by the growing smoke around them. He coughs weakly.  
  
All around him, the ground is shaking and for some reason it makes Youngjae think of trains.  
  
He’s lying on the tracks now, facing the tunnel as the flames around him grow taller. He struggles to his knees, supporting himself with his arms and crawling forward.  
  
“Youngjae,” he hears JB yell over the sound of the collapsing building and the back of Youngjae’s head bursts with pain. There’s a blooming pattern of lights behind his eyelids now as he struggles to stay conscious.  
  
His vision is fading fast and JB is so, so far away. A pair of arms, familiar in their build yet unfamiliar in their action, finds him anyways and lifts him to safety.  
  
  
***************  
  
  
This time Youngjae awakes to much better conditions.  
  
For one, his vision isn’t obscured.  
  
The room he’s in is well lit, and thankfully not in the seizure inducing way the last one was. The light glows softly, protectively over him and Youngjae tries sitting up right. The muscles in his neck are sore and Youngjae is vaguely aware of his some sort of makeshift bandage wrapped around his head.  
  
Aside from the exploding headache he has, Youngjae feels fine. Content even, until he shifts about 45 degrees to the left and sees both superhero and evil counterpart half a foot apart from each other, tea cups in hand. He had almost forgotten why he was here.  
  
JB’s smile is beyond blinding when he realizes Youngjae is awake.  
  
“Morning,” he waves cheerfully before he takes in Youngjae’s horrified expression. “Hold on. We can explain.”  
  
He gets up from his chair and Youngjae scoots back far enough to almost fall off the makeshift cot. JR keeps his distance, as if he knows his general presence causes Youngjae’s blood pressure to increase two-fold.  
  
“Well? How are you feeling?” JB asks softly like he’s afraid to startle Youngjae anymore than he already has. He extends a hand, and the gesture is too familiar for Youngjae not to take it. He rises unsteadily to his feet and takes a glance at them both.  
  
Youngjae isn’t sure what he thought the two of them would look like mask-less, now that he can get a clearer non-drugged up look.  
  
For starters, they’re both younger than he thought they would be.  
  
With JB, he had a clearer idea of how handsome he was, given that Justice Boy had endorsements and advertisements playing over half of Seoul. As for JR whose face was perpetually hidden in the shadows, Youngjae is glad his hunch proved correct--that his 2D portrayal could never hope to do him justice.  
  
JR’s eyes crinkle at the corners when he smiles widely, just like Youngjae had imagined. His ears stick out in a way that’s almost too cute for a super villain, and the rest of his face is just as charming. Youngjae kind of gets why they wear masks now, besides the whole secret identity thing. There’s absolutely no way that even common burglars would be able to take two pretty boys fighting crime seriously.  
  
“Good morning Justice Boy,” he replies stiffly. The words are strange in his mouth.  
  
His body is still a little sore, but he forces himself to look around. They’re in some sort of base, furnished with stylish couches and electrical wires, running all around the perimeter. There are several screens on the side of the wall attached to what looks like a generator from the 80’s.  
  
“Where are we?” he asks finally. There are a dozen more questions on his mind, but this is the first one that he asks.  
  
“We’re in a safe house,” JB replies, holding Youngjae steady as he sways unsteadily. It looks more like a high tech secret base out of the movies, but Youngjae takes his word for it, shooting a glance towards JR Evil.  
  
“And how can it be a...” Youngjae asks, putting heavy air quotes around his next words, “ _safe_ house, if  _he_  knows where it is?”  
  
“About that,” JR cuts in. “ _Jaebum_ ,” he says as Youngjae repeats the name in his head over and over again, “you said you were going to tell him. So let’s get the hard stuff over with.”  
  
JB--Jaebum, Youngjae repeats the name in his mind with reverence, bites his lip. He clears his throat and seats Youngjae back down onto the bed.  
  
“Listen to me carefully, Youngjae,” he starts slowly, “some of this isn’t really going to make sense at first, but I just need you to listen, okay?”  
  
Youngjae nods, anticipation pricking at his nerves.  
  
“You know the whole Justice Boy and JR Evil thing we have going on? Forget it. Forget all of it.”  
  
Youngjae nods again, feeling dumb.  
  
“The truth is, JR—well, Jinyoung-- and I are on the same team. We fight the same bad guys, but as far as the public is concerned we’re mortal enemies.”  
  
“But how...why?” Youngjae blurts out. He has so many questions.  
  
Jaebum answers him calmly, “Because most of your day to day crimes don’t require a superhero to fix. It’s mostly petty crime and even when there’s something on a larger scale, most petty thieves aren’t dumb enough to take us on.”  
  
Youngjae shakes his head, still confused.  
  
“What he means,” Jr--no Jinyoung-- says jabbing a thumb in Jaebum’s direction, “is that the superhero industry was effectively dying. So like any business we had to transform our business model into something more…”  
  
“Unorthodox,” Jaebum finishes for him.  
  
“Is this even legal?” Youngjae asks, genuinely curious. In the 5 months he spent getting kidnapped and rescued, they’ve collectively caused at least a couple trillion won in property damage. Whoever was filing property damage litigations couldn’t have been very happy.  
  
“Of course,” Jaebum exclaims. “We’re company sponsored and we get approval for everything.”  
  
Youngjae tries to imagine what kind of sane person would approve of civilian kidnapping and sign off after reading that they would almost let a hostage tumble to their death. It leaves a dark thought in his mind, twisting in his stomach uncomfortably.  
  
Sensing Youngjae’s discomfort, Jinyoung gives Jaebum a nudge to continue.  
  
“It’s not all a ruse though,” Jaebum says evenly, “we do actually fight crime. We just don’t do it in flashy costumes and we most definitely don’t get others involved. JYP knows this and personally signs off on everything we do.”  
  
“JYP?” Youngjae repeats, “like JYP from the JYP Daily where I work?” Jinyoung nods and suddenly this whole thing feels like it’s spun completely out of Youngjae’s hands.  
  
Youngjae looks over at the two of them and wonders why he never put together that all of JR Evil’s so called nefarious plots have only occurred during the early morning or complete daylight.  
  
“So you fight fake crime in the day caused  _by him_  and then real crime at night  _with him_  based upon some plan that gets approved by  _my_  boss who also happens to be  _your_  boss.” Youngjae trails off, turning to Jinyoung for the first time, “and you’re not evil. You just pretend to be.”  
  
“It pays the bills and then some,” Jinyoung says casually. “Just think of us as an extension of the entertainment business. We fight and pretend to be longtime rivals and the media milks it all up. It also promotes more citizen awareness in the long run.”  
  
“As for the criminals, who were scared into joining organized underground crime to avoid superheroes in the first place, they relax their guard too,” Jaebum adds thoughtfully, “they think they’ve finally got someone on their side to make their lives easier.” He shoots Jinyoung a fond smile. “They’re sorely mistaken though.”  
  
“So,” Youngjae lets out a long breath. As crazy as it sounds, it’s also kind of brilliant. “It’s a complete win-win.”  
  
“Not always though, this last round wasn’t thanks to me. We actually had to beat some real asses to get you back safely.” Jinyoung concludes with a wry smile. Jaebum gives him a nod before he continues, “The underground weren’t too happy with how we’ve been playing tug-o-war with you.”  
  
“I’ll say,” Jaebum mutters darkly, fingers reaching to touch the back of Youngjae’s head gently. “They made a poor choice in picking bait though.”  
  
“Bait?” Youngjae echoes hollowly. “They knew who I was?”  
  
“I don’t think we realized how much public exposure you would be getting,” Jaebum admits. “It was a good thing at first cause the public were going wild about it—you know. The whole, Justice Boy saves civilian again and again thing, but we didn’t anticipate the underground trying to take advantage of it.”  
  
“We tried to cool it down,” Jinyoung says slowly. It almost sounds like an apology for all the months Youngjae had been kept in the dark; the months he spent wondering if everything that had transpired in the past half-year had been a dream. “We kept an eye out for you though. This whole time, we’ve been trying to keep you safe.”  
  
It sounds sweet, almost caring if not for the fact that it was their fault for putting Youngjae in a situation like this.  
  
“Our intel told us that they were going to try something today,” Jaebum adds tensely. “We tried to find you first. We needed to tell you everything.”  
  
“I should have just gotten into the car, huh.” Youngjae says sheepishly.  
  
“We don’t blame you for freaking out,” Jinyoung laughs. He extends a hand out to Youngjae--his first. “Also I believe we’ve gotten off on the wrong foot for the past half-year or so. I’m Park Jinyoung; it’s nice to meet you.”  
  
“Park Jinyoung,” Youngjae whispers in slow realization. The name nags on the corner of his mind, piercing through his headache.  
  
“You write for the JYP Daily too,” he exclaims, “It was you... _you_  wrote that article about us after the skyscraper incident!”  
  
He turns to face them both, eyes wide and shouts, “I should have known!”  
  
Jinyoung gives him a slow clap before turning to Jaebum. “See I told you he was already piecing it together.” Jaebum gives him a half shrug, eyeing Youngjae with new respect.  
  
“The first time I kidnapped you,” Jinyoung laughs, “didn’t you wonder why no one was around? I mean the metro system is one of the busiest in the world, and yet there wasn’t a single person around you.”  
  
He trails off, finger circling in the air, but Youngjae gets it.  
  
“It was staged,” he voices numbly. Everything in his life, or at least the past half year, is a lie.  
  
“Technically yes,” Jaebum says diplomatically, “but also no. I mean you were in danger the whole time and I did have to save you-”  
  
“We did real work,” Jinyoung cuts in, “that much of it was real.”  
  
Youngjae looks at them with watery eyes. “I need a minute,” he says, sitting down to clear his head.  
  
It’s difficult to wrap his mind around it at first--this whole JR Evil and Justice Boy act being a marketing ploy, but the more he thinks about it, the more it fits.  
  
The strange timing between JR’s kidnapping intervals. His ambiguous answers on the railway track. How Justice Boy seemingly always arrived right in the nick of time.  
  
Come to think of it, the skyscraper they frequented more than once was completely empty on the top few floors. Maybe Youngjae had been unobservant or maybe he had been too ready to pee his pants at the time to notice.  
  
Still, it’s far too early for him to work out the details and Youngjae’s head throbs as if agonizing over his confusion as well. He puts his head down, watching JB and JR out of the corner of his eye as their expressions become uneasy.  
  
“I told you we should have given him more time before spilling it all out like this,” Jaebum says hotly shooting concerned glances towards Youngjae’s slumped over form on the cot.  
  
“It was your idea to tell him in the first place,” Jinyoung huffs and Jaebum throws his hands up in defeat. Youngjae is half afraid that they’ll actually start fighting in the confines of the secret base. Instead, he watches Jinyoung pull Jaebum in close to whisper something in his ear. Jaebum turns his cheek at the last minute and catches Jinyoung’s lips with his own.  
  
It’s an intimate gesture and something Youngjae feels almost guilty for witnessing it. Part of him feels like an intruder, but as Jinyoung’s other hand comes up to grip the back of Jaebum’s neck and slide down to grip his shoulder, Youngjae realizes that he couldn’t look away if he tried.  
  
They stay like that for a minute, before Jinyoung notices Youngjae practically gawking at them. He taps Jaebum lightly on the shoulder and just like that, their moment is over.  
  
“Anyways,” Jaebum diverts, bringing his attention back to Youngjae, “I’m sorry. We’re sorry for everything we’ve put you through.”  
  
“Truly,” Jinyoung adds, “I mean we were pretty careful, but that’s no excuse for what we really did.”  
  
“It’s okay” Youngjae says, even though it really isn’t. There’s something he needs to know though. He pauses. The next question is important, “why me though? Why all these times?”  
  
"Why?" Jaebum parrots back incredulously as Jinyoung leans over Youngjae mock threateningly. Even after the reveal about JB and JR, Youngjae can’t himself from flinching instinctively as Jinyoung intrudes deep into his personal space.  
  
"Why you? Can you blame me? I steal all the cuties in town,” he says completely deadpan as Jaebum breaks out in uncontrollable laughter, “I did it because that's what I do."  
  
He covers his face almost immediately afterwards in shame as Youngjae stares on, mouth gaping wide. “Please retire,” Jaebum wheezes through his booming laughter and Youngjae watches him take Jinyoung into his arms.  
  
"Don't look at me like that, I even rehearsed these lines ahead of time,” Jinyoung whines, as Jaebum gives him a reassuring squeeze, pulling Jinyoung’s arms away from embarrassed face. The two of them break out into more laughter as Youngjae looks on dumbly.  
  
“So you just wanted to. You kidnapped me for half a year because you felt like it.” Youngjae mumbles numbly. Jinyoung nods before Jaebum explodes into more laughter. “Lucky you,” Jinyoung calls before giggling very un-super villain like.  
  
“Everything in my life is a lie,” Youngjae says tonelessly.  
  
“To be technical, this whole thing was JYP’s idea. He just gave me the liberty to pick my targets.” Jinyoung says, defending himself half-heartedly. He looks unbearably cute like that, sticking out his lower lip in a pout.  
  
“Everything in my life is a lie,” Youngjae repeats, but Jaebum cuts him off this time.  
  
“Well not everything,” he argues, “I mean Jinyoung and I are here, and I’d say we’re pretty real.” He pauses, stretching a hand out to Youngjae. “Again, we’re sorry for what we’ve done. It was never supposed to go this far and we’re doing this now because we want to make up for it.”  
  
Youngjae lets Jaebum draw him forward, situating himself between the two. Jinyoung’s hand finds itself around his waist as Jaebum wraps an arm around his shoulder. Youngjae has missed this. Not that this sort of non-belligerent intimacy has ever happened between the three of them, but he’s missed being between JB and JR in general.  
  
“Any bullies at work? Ka-pow. Problem done,” Jinyoung illustrates by pounding his fist into an open palm. “It’ll require a lot of back-end paperwork, but we do technically owe you quite a bit.” His breath tickles the side of Youngjae’s neck and Youngjae can’t help the giggle that escapes him as he ducks into Jaebum’s side.  
  
“So,” Jaebum suggests, eyes bright, “heroes for hire, all that jazz. What can we do for you?”  
  
“How about a date?” Youngjae blurts out before he can stop himself. In retrospect, it’s probably the sanest thing he’s said in months. “Like an  _actual_  one. None of this masked-spandex, life on the edge stuff. Let’s just all go get coffee or something and talk about this properly.”  
  
“I’m game,” Jaebum replies warmly while Jinyoung retorts, “If it’s coffee, we’re going on my terms. No more of that cheap drive-thru stuff Jaebum treats you to.”  
  
“It was on the fly, okay?” Jaebum defends. Their back and forth bickering works a lot like their alter-egos, Youngjae realizes. Jinyoung always the one to provoke but Jaebum never failing to react, chasing him down verbally.  
  
“You took the Wonder Girls to a shitty cafe too when they swung by last year,” Jinyoung retorts loudly and that’s when the room goes eerily silent as they both remember that Youngjae is in the room.  
  
“Wait... _the_ Wonder Girls?” Youngjae all but screams, “like the actual  _Wonder Girls_? You mean all of you are in on this?! Is anyone in Seoul actually fighting crime?!”  
  
Jinyoung breaks down in laughter as Jaebum leans in closer to Youngjae. “Of course,” he says and the corners of his eyes are crinkling in laughter too, “you collect our comic books, don’t you? Why don’t you tell me how many of us there are?”  
  
This time when Youngjae almost collapses, Jaebum’s arms catch him as Jinyoung pats the top of his head reassuringly. At this point, Youngjae doesn’t know if he wants to weep or just faint and never wake up.  
  
“How many?” he asks weakly. The only response is the secretive look shared between the two. Finally, it’s Jinyoung who leans forward, his eyes dark and mischievous.  
  
“I guess it’s a little late to ask if you can keep a secret.”  
  
  
***************  
  
  
Two months later, Jackson narrowly survives a shootout at a grocery store and is subsequently saved by a lanky figure donning a spider suit. Youngjae bites his tongue, catching Mark’s eye with a wink during lunch break, and pulls out a pen instead.  
  
" _So_ , Jackson."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired mostly by RealGot7 Ep8 where all the members wear beautiful superhero aprons. Also by the way JB has basically adopted Youngjae as his official little spoon (TM), but that never stops JR and Youngjae from being precious and qt together.
> 
> Also JJ Project, always. <3
> 
> Many thanks to mangafanxd who beta'd this for me and sorted through my terrible, 5am grammar and general lack of common sense. She’s also the reason why there is 100% more making out than before. So bless her existence bc she's wonderful to me and I adore her in general.
> 
> Special shoutout goes to g who sits through my insane ramblings on twitter and gives me encouragement to write for these $waggy fetuses.
> 
> Also for stopping me from naming JB's alter ego ~JU$TICE BLING~.
> 
> can you imagine.
> 
> Now someone write me more superhero aus. Bless spring break.
> 
> EDIT: the wonderful shiiaaron @ tumblr drew fanart for this fic! it's amazing, please check it out!


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